The tech giant Asus introduced a new household robot, Zenbo, on Monday at the Computex 2016 held in Taipei, Taiwan. Asus Chairman Jonney Shih conducted the demonstration that showcased the 2-foot tall robot's abilities to talk, receive verbal commands, play games and take photographs, among other things.
On its webpage dedicated to Zenbo, Asus explains that the robot, which moves on wheels, would make an ideal assistant, especially to elders and children. It goes on to detail Zenbo's ability to convert its display screen to show movies, make video calls and browse the Internet. It also has special features that offers reminders about appointments and informs family members of an elderly person in the case of a fall.
Zenbo has been designed as a playful companion for children, one that plays them their favorite songs and dances with them, plays interactive games with them and reads stories to them in different voices. The lovable appearance and Zenbo's ability to display cute expressions are an added bonus.
According to Asus, Zenbo can help with various household tasks like reading out recipes, as well as monitor security by using its camera to watch the house while the family is out. Additionally, it can connect to smarthome devices, like lights and appliances, making it an efficient assistant.
According to PCWorld, the presentation included Chairman Shih asking questions of Zenbo. To those that it could not answer, the robot's response was a promise to work on its knowledge.
The robot will be made available to customers at $599, which is a comparatively low price for an interactive robot. Shih went on to state that Zenbo is the realization of the dream of having a companion that is smart and close to one's heart and that his ambition was to enable robot computing in every household.
